


Connections

by Arcadian



Category: Inside Out (2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-03
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-24 13:45:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4921867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arcadian/pseuds/Arcadian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of shortfics, both Joy/Sadness (Joyness) and Fear/Disgust (Disear/Fashion Disaster)-related, sometimes in canon-verse, sometimes in alternate universes, either human or specific AUs. The ship and verse will be listed at the beginning of each chapter. Each story in canon-verse is post-movie, so movie spoilers are a given. (Currently there are only Joyness ones, but a Disear one is coming soon!)<br/>(This is a shortfic project, in an attempt to write more shippy drabbles/one-shots. Each chapter's name is a word, the word is the inspiration for the chapter and may not be very related to the chapter's story.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Crush

**Author's Note:**

> There will be 26 chapters in total, with one word per letter of the alphabet. They will not be in alphabetical order. I hope you guys enjoy these! I've attempted to keep these short, at least under 1500 words, but future ones may go over that if the story requires it. Many of these are 400-600 words, though.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with newfound feelings is nothing unique for Sadness anymore. But when they have to do with a certain other Emotion, she begins to sort through them to find her answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Joyness
> 
> Verse: Canon

The days following Riley's 12th birthday were unlike any other - the Emotions had to learn how to work together with the new console, which let them all drive at the same time. It was a fairly rough start, even with all of them liking it as well as they did, but they got the hang of it quickly.  
  
Sadness, of course, opted to sit next to Joy, since they had bonded so quickly after the Core Memory incident. It was rare to see them apart from one another during the daytime. Around Joy, Sadness felt... well, less sad. She felt fairly happy. She didn't know why, but this wasn't the first time she had to deal with newfound feelings. So she pushed it aside for the moment, because it was silly to obsess over that.  
  
...wasn't it?  
  
As days and weeks flew by, Sadness felt that same feeling come back, again and again, every time she was with Joy. What was it? What was this feeling? It was unique, something even Sadness couldn't figure out.  
  
Until one day, when she re-read one of the books Riley had read not too long ago. She read and read, and came across a word that seemed to fit.  
  
'Crush.'  
  
She had a 'crush.' It... certainly felt right. But what... She kept flipping through, reading up on what a crush was...  
  
And she hugged the book to her chest suddenly, blushing. Was she...? Did she...? Is that what this all meant...?  
  
No, that couldn't be it. They were friends, that's all. Joy was her best friend. That's all.  
  
But as more days passed, she found herself curious. She watched Joy some nights when the happy emotion was on dream duty, watching her skate around, feeling a sense of giddiness inside of her. This wasn't anything she could feel on her own. No, this had to be the 'crush' talking - her feelings for Joy were... suddenly more complicated than she thought.  
  
So she sat in her room, on her bed, and pulled out some drawing paper. Sure, she drew or doodled things sometimes. But it was rare. The last time she drew anything was after the first blended Core Memory was formed...  
  
But tonight, her thoughts were easily flooding out onto the paper. Doodle after doodle after doodle, each depicting day-to-day things with herself and Joy. Helping Riley be happy, Joy laughing at her own jokes, Sadness watching Joy on dream duty... before she knew it, she had drawn the two hugging, with a small heart in a corner.  
  
Yes, Sadness definitely had a crush on Joy. But how did Joy feel about Sadness? That was a different story altogether, she thought.  
  
Before she could think further, someone knocked at her door. "Sadness?"  
  
It was Joy. What was Joy doing knocking at her door? Quickly, she hid the drawings behind her. "Yes, Joy...?"  
  
She came inside. "Are you okay? I saw you up on the balcony, and it looked like you were sick."  
  
"O-Oh... well... I was just having trouble sleeping, and..."  
  
"Are you feeling okay?"  
  
Sadness slipped off the bed and nodded, clasping her hands together. "I-I'm fine, Joy, really..."  
  
"If you're sure... you need to get your rest!"  
  
"I-I know..." And before she knew it, she was swept into a hug by the taller emotion. "J-Joy...?"  
  
"What is it?" Joy blinked at Sadness, still hugging her. "I just wanted to give you a hug!"  
  
"I-It's... nice." Sadness hugged her back. "Thanks, Joy..."  
  
"Hey, if you still can't sleep, you can always come sit with me for dream duty! The dreams are pretty mild tonight, so, y'know..."  
  
"Y-Yeah... Maybe."  
  
"Well, try to get some sleep, okay?" Joy released Sadness from the hug, and then walked out, giving a small wave before shutting the door.  
  
The moment the door clicked shut, Sadness' face flushed red. Did Joy...? Was Joy...? So many more questions flooded her mind. But in the end, she took a deep breath, and decided that the best choice was the easiest one.  
  
She walked to her door, opened it, stepped outside, and closed the door behind her.  
  
Would she tell Joy? Maybe... but maybe it would be more interesting to see what happens first, instead. After all, even if nothing happened, Sadness just enjoyed being near Joy.  
  
It gave her a reason to be happy.


	2. Yay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sadness isn't used to winning at video games. Joy's determined to let her have a stronger voice in winning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Joyness
> 
> Verse: Human AU

Playing video games was one way to wind down from tough days at work. Joy enjoyed playing games with her girlfriend, but Sadness just wasn't nearly as competitive as she was most of the time. So they tended to play cooperative games, where their teamwork would win the day every time.

Usually when they competed, Joy would have the advantage, due to the way she tried to optimize everything, and Sadness... tended to be a bit slower.

Whenever Joy won, she'd toss her arms in the air, give a 'Woohoo!' and bump Sadness' shoulder lightly with a grin. She wasn't trying to rub in that she'd won, just show that she had fun. Sadness normally gave a small smile in return.

One day, they played competitively, and Sadness won. Joy peered over to her to see if she'd do the same thing Joy did when she won, but all she did was smile.

"What's wrong?" Sadness blinked at Joy, tilting her head curiously.

"Nothing!" Joy ruffled her girlfriend's hair. "I just thought when you won you might do something like I'd do, y'know?"

Sadness smiled a little again. "I-It's... really not in my nature to celebrate... that's more your thing."

"Aww, come on, you gotta try at least! Give yourself a cheer when you win again, okay?"

Sadness let out a little chuckle. She couldn't very well argue that. "Okay, I'll try..."

She knows she shouldn't have, but Joy let Sadness win this time. She was just too curious! What would she do? She peered over again, and this time, Sadness looked over, opened her mouth to speak...

"Yaaaay..." she said in a soft tone, and then a few seconds later, added, "...d-did I say that right...?"

Joy couldn't help snorting a little bit and laughing. That was just  _adorable_! "You gotta say it a bit louder, hon."

"Yay."

"A bit louder."

"Yay."

"Okay, okay, you tried." Joy nudged Sadness. "That was good. Wanna go again?"

Sadness shrugged. "Sure."

That couldn't be it. Maybe if Sadness won again? Joy let her win again, trying not to make it obvious... but Sadness looked at her with a raised brow.

"C'mon, Joy, I'm not gonna feel like I really won if you don't try."

"Ha, you don't miss anything, do you? Okay, okay, I'll really try this time."

And she really  _did_  try. Somehow, she thought that Sadness was trying even harder than she did before, and Joy was scrambling to keep up. Much to Joy's surprise, she lost.

Sadness tossed a hand in the air. "Yay!"

'Atta girl. Joy leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, prompting a giggle from Sadness. Maybe this was the start of a more playful competitive nature between the two. Who knew?


	3. Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sadness tries to find a way to express her feelings for Joy, months into their relationship, and a slip of the tongue causes her to panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Joyness
> 
> Verse: Canon

Sadness paced back and forth around her room. She'd been thinking this topic  over for the past couple of days. Eventually, she flopped over on her bed, tired of walking. It was a complicated situation, dating Joy... the others knew by now, and they were happy together... Sadness being happy more often than sad was a strange thing for the other emotions to accept, but they did. And now, Sadness was trying to put into words how she felt about Joy.  
  
It was easier said than done. She kind of knew how relationships worked due to some of the books Riley had been reading since Sadness' adventure through the Mind World with Joy all that time ago. The two emotions had been dating for well over six months now, and Sadness couldn't have been happier about it, to be honest. They’d held hands for far longer than they’d dated, they had gone on actual dates, cuddled, kissed... maybe it was time to rise to a new relationship level. And that meant coming to terms with her feelings for Joy.  
  
But what if she didn't reciprocate? Sure, Joy seemed happier than usual... her now overflowing radiance made her look even more beautiful to Sadness... but what if that was it? What if that was the end? Sadness mentally smacked herself. Her pessimistic nature was going to always be there, and she knew not to let it get the best of her, but... it was hard.  
  
Thinking about it more, she finally figured it out - the word she'd been looking for to describe her feelings.  
  
But as she got herself back up into a sitting position, Joy happened to burst into the room. "Saaadness~! You've got to see this--"  
  
Without warning, before she could stop herself, Sadness already felt her mouth moving, the words came out before she knew what she was doing.  
  
"I love you, Joy."  
  
Joy stopped in her tracks, staring at Sadness, who now felt her blue face reddening at realizing what she had done. And she noticed Joy's face reddening as well.  
  
"Oh-- well-- I.. uh... I... well... that's..."  
  
Joy stepped out of the room and closed the door. The resounding 'click!' caused Sadness to sniffle, feeling tears come to her eyes.  
  
"Joy..."  
  
She'd messed it up. She'd meant to find some way to tell her without this... awkwardness. But somehow, she'd done it. She'd screwed it up badly. And now she didn't know how Joy felt. She didn't know if Joy loved her. She didn't even know if they'd still be together now.  
  
Covering her face with her hands, she began to cry, turning around to face the wall. Maybe her pessimistic nature was right to be trusted - if it wasn't going to go right, she was going to certainly mess it up. And now, as she sifted through her memories of her and Joy's relationship, she started to cry harder, when she heard a knock at her door. She stopped crying, but didn't move. She didn't want to see anyone right now.  
  
"Sadness...?" It was Joy. Even worse. Sadness wasn't even going to be able to deal with the oncoming feelings of rejection before it happened. She said nothing, hoping Joy wouldn't come in.  
  
She came in. "Um... sorry about... walking away earlier. I didn't know how to respond..."  
  
"I know... it was too soon, it--"  
  
"Sadness, look at me."  
  
She uncovered her face and turned around, and her eyes widened when she saw Joy holding a vase of flowers. As Joy held them out to Sadness... she smiled.  
  
'I... I love you too." Sadness knew the word 'love' must've felt foreign on Joy's lips, the same way they felt from Sadness'... but she hopped off her bed and threw her arms around Joy in a hug.

As the two held each other tightly, all Sadness could think now was... that things would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of the time of posting this, I have two more Joyness ones lined up to post, and I will post them tomorrow sometime. After that is one more Joyness one, and then I will likely get to Disear/Fashion Disaster. To those of you who are waiting on Fashion Disaster ones, I do promise there will be some! It's just easier for me to write Joyness at the moment! XD


	4. Bastion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems like things will never stop getting harder for the emotions. Sadness just wants to sit alone and contemplate the hardships ahead. Joy has different plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Joyness
> 
> Verse: Canon

Over the couple of years since the Core Memory incident, it seemed that even though the Emotions were becoming even closer as a team, things just kept getting tougher and tougher. More responsibility, more things to deal with since the puberty light turned on a year before, and high school began to loom over their girl’s head as well. It was beginning to get a bit too much for Sadness, and she spent many sleepless nights contemplating the hardships ahead.

To Sadness, her room was like her sanctuary. She could think, she could cry, she could do whatever she needed to do by herself. It was what she was used to, even though she’d been confiding a lot in Joy and the others. Joy especially, considering they had been dating for a couple of years. But even Joy didn’t know everything that Sadness was stressed or upset about. And that was just as well, because the last thing she wanted to do was burden Joy with all of her negativity. After all, that’s what Sadness  _was_. She was the embodiment of sadness, sorrow, and general related negative emotions. She could only bottle them up for so long before she needed a good cry. And her room was the perfect place to do that. She always had boxes of tissues ready, and a wastebasket for said tissues. Otherwise, her room was very neat and orderly - shelves of books spanning the walls, with every book Riley has ever read. Her favorites, of course, were set separately from the rest, and they were all sorted alphabetically either way. And there was a shelf specifically for the set of Mind Manuals she was reading. It seemed like every day, more would appear for her to read.

She knew that Joy noticed how sleepy she had been lately. Sure, she was always kind of half-asleep when she woke up, but she had been stumbling around some, and nodding off at times at the console. Even though they didn’t need much sleep, her sudden insomnia was beginning to affect her quite a bit. But every time she was asked about it, she shrugged it off. There was no need to burden Joy or the others with her sorrows. She was just being herself.

A knock at her door caused her to break from her thoughts. But she already knew who it was. “Come on in…”

Joy entered quietly, and shut the door. “Hey, hon. Can’t sleep?”

Sadness shook her head. “I’m alright, though. Just taking a bit longer than usual…”

“Alright.” Joy walked over and sat beside Sadness on her bed. “I just wanted to talk to you real quick about something.”

’ _Something_.’ She was going to talk about the past few days. Joy couldn’t ever hide her curiosity from Sadness. “Yeah?”

“Have you been getting enough sleep lately?”

“Well–” Sadness started, before Joy gave her a concerned look.

“Tell me the truth, Sadness. I’m worried about you. I know you haven’t been getting enough.”

Sadness frowned, looking down at her hands. She knew Joy could see right past her, but a pang of guilt struck her. “…I haven’t been sleeping much lately, no.” And though she felt Joy’s arm around her, she continued, tears beginning to fill her eyes as she blinked. “I’ve just been… thinking a lot. With how hard things are becoming for us. For how hard things are for Riley.”

Joy hugged Sadness closer to her from the side. “It’s been getting tougher, sure. But we’re a tough team! We’ve been working through it just fine.”

“But it just keeps… getting worse.” Sadness sniffled a bit. “I know we can work through it, in the end. That’s not what’s bothering me… it’s just… how much harder does life need to be to Riley? She’s got high school to worry about soon, and then college, and then a job… and other things she has to worry about…”

“Sadness…” Joy tilted her head down a bit so she could look at Sadness’ face. “Why didn’t you tell me you were thinking about all this before?”

“Because…. because I don’t want you to worry about me!” Sadness shuddered, a sob escaping her lips. “I don’t want to bring everyone down, worrying about every little thing like I always do… I just wanted to deal with it myself… deal with it on my own time…”

“This is  _our_  problem, Sadness. All of ours.” Joy reached over and wiped one of Sadness’ tears away. “It’s not something you should deal with alone.” She hopped off the bed, and knelt down in front of her, placing a hand on her cheek. “Hey… when you need alone time, you need alone time. But I want you to remember this… I’ll be your fortress, for when you need me. You don’t ever have to bear the weight of life’s problems alone, Sadness.”

Sadness squeezed her eyes shut, shuddering and sobbing, wiping her eyes. Joy pulled her into a hug, and Sadness wrapped her arms around Joy tightly. Joy held Sadness close, letting her cry for as long as she needed. Eventually, Sadness spoke.

“I…I-I’m sorry, Joy… I’m sorry for hiding all of this from you…”

“Shhh. It’s okay…” Joy smiled. “Hey, you were just doing what you thought was right! I know it’s hard. But we’re all in this together. And if you can’t tell any of the others… you know you can tell me. It’s not gonna bring me down. I promise you that.”

“You really mean that…?”

“Of course I do.” Joy leaned forward and kissed Sadness’ forehead. “I don’t ever need a reason to be happy, remember? And you’ve told me you don’t ever need a reason to be sad… so it’s okay to tell me what’s making you sad. And I’ll do my best to make you happy. That’s what I do!”

Sadness blushed a bit. “Y-You’ve already made me happy, you know…”

“I know.” Joy ruffled Sadness’ hair a little bit. “You’ve said it before, too - it’s okay to be sad. But when you need someone, I’ll be here.”

“Mmmhm. Thanks, Joy…” Sadness pulled Joy into another hug. “Love you…”

Joy giggled a bit and squeezed her girlfriend. “Love you too. Now get some sleep, because we have a big day tomorrow!”

“Like always, right?” Sadness grinned a bit, kissing Joy’s nose. “Goodnight, Joy…”

“Goodnight, Sadness.” They shared one final kiss, and Joy left to go back to her room.

The glow in Sadness’ expression didn’t leave her as she tucked herself into bed and started to drift off to sleep. She wouldn’t ever forget Joy’s words, and just thinking of them again made her blush and smile.


	5. Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's always nice remembering the first time you danced with someone you love, even if you weren't aware of your feelings at the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Joyness
> 
> Verse: Human AU

She had been invited by a friend to the school dance. It would've been rude to decline, so of course, Sadness went.

She didn't like it there at all. It was too loud. Too many rowdy people were there. And within minutes, she lost sight of the friend that came there with her in the first place. So she stayed against one of the walls, watching everyone else dance, clasping her hands together and keeping to herself. Adjusting her glasses sometimes, trying to avoid fidgeting out of nervousness.

That is, until she saw her.

It was hard not to - she was the only one dancing by herself. She'd never been acquainted with this girl before, but everyone else seemed to be, as they gave her room to dance. And she wasn't even doing the crazy 'breakdancing' she'd seen others do. No, this girl was twirling and dancing gracefully. And Sadness couldn't help but stare in awe. She was quite beautiful. And she even had blue hair like Sadness did... the girl seemed to almost glow as she continued dancing.

And the moment their eyes met, Sadness looked back down at her hands. It was rude to stare, she shouldn't have been...

"You okay?"

She looked up almost immediately at the voice, not prepared for someone to actually talk to her. And even more to her surprise... it was that girl.

"O-Oh, um... I-I'm fine..."

The other girl's smile didn't waver. "You sure? You look really down, over here by yourself. You need some company?"

Sadness shook her head. "I-It's fine, really... I appreciate it..."

"Well, if you're sure..."

Sadness bit her lip a little. "It's just... I can't... I don't really like parties like this..."

"Then why'd you come?" Even still, the girl's smile didn't falter. Sadness looked to the side a bit.

"I was asked to come by a friend... and she kind of... disappeared... I don't know where she is now..."

"Well, that's no fun!" The girl stood beside Sadness with her own back to the wall. "Someone brings you to the party and then just abandons you? That's not something a friend should do."

"She's... normally like this though. She's more of a party person than I am..."

"What d'you like to do, then?"

"I like being alone, usually... reading, thinking... calmer things..."

"Couldn't have guessed that from looking," said the girl in a playful tone. "Anyway, what's your name? I'm Joy."

"Hi, Joy... I'm Sadness."

"Sadness, huh..." Joy looked out towards the mass of dancing students. "You just gonna stand here for the rest of the party?"

"W-Well, there's not much else for me to do--" Sadness' sentence was cut off by Joy extending her hand.

"You could dance."

"I-I don't really think that's a good idea..." Sadness drew further into herself, shaking her head. "I-I don't know how to dance..."

"I can teach you! It's easy."

"I-It's okay, I wouldn't want to drag you down..."

"Naw, you wouldn't! C'mon, one dance. What do you say?" Joy kept her hand extended, giving Sadness an earnest smile.

Sadness looked away for a couple of seconds, but nodded slowly and placed her hand in Joy's. "O-Okay... one dance... if you really want to..."

Joy grasped Sadness' hand and led her to an open spot on the dance floor, and then nodded to her. "Just follow my lead. Don't worry if it takes you a couple of tries. You'll get the hang of it."

"O-Okay... I-I'll... try..." Sadness still wasn't sure of herself at all, but she started moving along with Joy's movements, and stumbled over herself a few times.

Each time she did, though, Joy helped her back up, and kept her balanced. Sadness started getting the hang of it... and her expression changed into a small smile.

"Having fun yet?"

"A-A little..."

"You're doing great, Sadness. Keep it up!"

"You really think so...?"

"I know so." Joy motioned for Sadness to bring her arm up, and she helped the smaller girl do a spin. "See? Nothing to it. You're already getting the hang of it!"

Sadness couldn't help the small blush that crept onto her cheeks. "Th-thanks, Joy..."

Soon enough, the song ended, and they took one step away from one another, still holding hands for a few brief moments before letting go and letting their arms rest at their sides.

... Truth be told, Sadness had hesitated before letting go. Part of her didn't want to let go.

"You wanna dance again?"

Sadness blinked. Was she being asked...? This time, she nodded without hestitation. "Yeah... I'd love to..."

As they started to dance again, Joy spoke up. "Maybe this goes without saying, but... you want to be friends? Maybe hang out sometime? I think you might need at least a friend that won't abandon you next time you go to a social event, y'know?"

Sadness looked aside a bit, stifling a giggle. "I'd be okay with that... and she's really not a bad friend... she just... gets really into parties..."

Joy snorted just a bit, but kept it quiet. "Sounds like she's the type to want to be the talk of the town, or at least the party. Still, I suppose you could have worse friends."

"Yeah..."

They continued to dance without another word, seemming to enjoy each other's company...

\--

"Of course I remember it. How could I forget?" Joy laughed and put her arm around Sadness, as they cuddled a bit on the couch. "Sure, it's been a couple of years..."

"I never said you forgot." Sadness smiled, leaning her head on Joy's side. "But I'm glad you remember it as well as I do..."

"I still think it was funny that I pinned down the type of person Disgust was, abandoning you there."

Sadness shrugged. "I kinda figured she would. But I thought maybe if I came to the party, I could try and socialize... but I was never good at that."

"Trust me, I remember." Joy giggled a bit. "I think you did okay, though! You learned how to dance."

"Because you were teaching me." Sadness sighed a bit happily. "You were a good instructor with that."

"Hey, you never gave up." Joy kissed her on the cheek. "I think you deserve just as much praise for sticking with it."

"Yeah, maybe..."

They sat there, cuddling together wordlessly for a few more minutes, Sadness closing her eyes and sighing contently again. That memory always made her feel so happy, even though a lot of the time she felt sad whenever Joy wasn't around. She was glad she had agreed to dance with her that day. It was always nice to remember the first time you danced with someone you loved... even if you didn't know it at the time. Now, they lived together in an apartment, girlfriends of almost a year and a half, attending college together. Joy made friends with Disgust, and they seemed to get along quite well.

Her thoughts were interrupted with the feeling of Joy running her hand through Sadness' hair.

"Y'know, we could always dance again, if you wanted. I've got a CD in the music player. What do you say?"

It took Sadness a few seconds to respond, just enjoying the feeling of her hair being run through. "I'd love to..."

Joy took Sadness' hand, and both stood up from the couch. Joy put in the CD, and hit 'play', and pulled Sadness into a dancing position.

And as they danced into the night, Sadness rested her head on Joy, and Joy rested her head on top of Sadness'. And Sadness felt that same familiar blush creep onto her cheeks as she remembered from their first dance.

It was day neither of them would ever forget, and knowing that made her feel even happier in that moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've got another one ready, but I'll post it soon. The next prompt is 'Alone.'


End file.
